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How to let your kids be kids, learn, grow and thrive via purposeful play, independent learning, and open-ended toys.

best soil for mud play for kids
Child Development | Play

The Best Soil for Mud Play [and why mud play matters]

Movement activities for kids
Elementary (5-11 Years Old) | Play | Pre-School (3-4 Years Old) | Toddler (13-24 Months)

Movement Activities for Children [benefits + tips to encourage gross motor play]

The Importance of Recess [and why it’s so crucial for kids’ development]
Play | Pre-School (3-4 Years Old) | Toddler (13-24 Months)

The Importance of Recess [and why it’s so crucial for kids’ development]

Playroom organization
Play | Pre-School (3-4 Years Old) | Toddler (13-24 Months)

10+ Small Playroom Organization Ideas: Transform Your Space

25 Simple Sensory Activities for Infants and Toddlers
Infants (0-12 Months) | Toddler (13-24 Months)

25 Simple Sensory Activities for Infants and Toddlers

What is Sensory Play? [and benefits of sensory play]
Elementary (5-11 Years Old) | Infants (0-12 Months) | Play | Pre-School (3-4 Years Old)

What is Sensory Play? [and benefits of sensory play]

Best Experience Gifts for Kids (Instead of Toys!)
Raising Confident Kids | Toy Recommendations

Best Experience Gifts for Kids (Instead of Toys!)

Mud play for kids: Yes, it’s worth the mess.
Child Development | Play

Mud play for kids: Yes, it’s worth the mess.

mouse, speaker, radio play-4850343.jpg
Elementary (5-11 Years Old) | Play | Pre-School (3-4 Years Old) | Raising Confident Kids | Toddler (13-24 Months)

The Toniebox: The Screen-Free Toy For Kids That Will Transform Your Child’s Playtime

youth, children, wagon-640094.jpg
Play

20 Must-Have Outdoor Toys for Kids [unique outdoor toys]

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Together we’ll slow down, stop rushing our kids through life and raise lifelong learners who will become confident and independent adults. 

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thealannagallo

Helping parents rethink school, screens + modern childhood
Former teacher (M.Ed) → secular homeschooler
Raising curious, real-world-ready kids ↓

Please go look up the importance of sleep on child Please go look up the importance of sleep on child development 😅 About 44% to 77% of U.S. kids are sleep deprived….Lack of quality sleep is 💯 impacting many kids physical and mental health. It also exacerbates symptoms of ADHD and autism 😅 so this ND mom to multiple ND kids is protecting it at all costs.Modern homeschooling isn’t just about opting out of the education system… it’s much bigger than that. We are opting out of all the systems that don’t serve us.#secularhomeschoolers #secularhomeschool
I’m not screen-intentional because I think I’m a p I’m not screen-intentional because I think I’m a perfect parent. I’m screen-intentional because I’ve seen what happens when my kids don’t have one to reach for.Follow @thealannagallo for more of our totally intentional, slightly countercultural life.
Nobody designed these games to be educational. Nob Nobody designed these games to be educational. Nobody was thinking about executive function or social development or attention spans.They were just fun.But here’s what’s wild: we were outside, moving, problem solving, competing, failing, and figuring things out together. Without a single screen involved.I think about this a lot when I watch my kids play. The less structured it is, the more they’re actually building.We didn’t need an app for that in 1993. We still don’t.Follow @thealannagallo for more.
Scarier than anything Netflix could come up with. Scarier than anything Netflix could come up with.Because somewhere along the way we decided that 7 year olds needed a 30 step skincare routine, recess was a privilege and not a right, and handing a kid a screen was easier than sitting with their boredom.And schools? Schools stopped assigning novels because kids can’t focus long enough to finish them. We gave them AI generated summaries and called it learning.This is the stuff that actually keeps me up at night. Not monsters. This.Follow @thealannagallo for more of these completely unhinged but entirely true observations.
And notice I said the SYSTEM not TEACHERS. The sys And notice I said the SYSTEM not TEACHERS. The system is failing and all the data backs it up.Let’s stop trying to flex that even 20 years ago teachers couldn’t get kids to read books… like what? 🫠It was bad then and it’s only getting worse (I know because I was a high school teacher for over a decade)…High stakes testing. EdTech. Curriculum choices driven by politics. Lack of teacher autonomy. Lack of parental involvement. 1:1 iPads for kindergartners Excessive screen use at home and in school. Gamified everything. Lack of recess time. Busy work for homework. Large class sizes. Lowering standards.Add that to…A society that doesn’t value the work of teachers. A society that doesn’t value intellectualism. A society that doesn’t value neurodiversity.There is a reason there is a mass exodus of teachers and a reason so many teachers are leaving to homeschool their own kids…
Homeschooling didn’t just change how our kids lear Homeschooling didn’t just change how our kids learn. It changed how we live.When you step off the conveyor belt you’re suddenly forced to ask questions you never thought to ask before. Why are we rushing? What are we teaching them? What are we letting in and what are we keeping out?We don’t have it all figured out. But we’re asking the questions. And that feels like enough.Follow @thealannagallo if you’re asking the same ones.
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